WSBK Aragon, Spain: Sykes 'surpised' by Kawasaki performance

Timesheet topper Tom Sykes says he was taken by surprise with the Kawasaki ZX-10R's pace and feels he can still squeeze out more

Timesheet topper Tom Sykes says he was taken by surprise with the Kawasaki ZX-10R's pace and feels he can still squeeze out more before this weekend's races at Aragon.

The Yorkshireman sprinted fastest of any rider in the final ten minutes of the afternoon session at the Spanish track with a 1m 50.712s to pull out a almost a third of a second over Chaz Davies on the Ducati and double that gap to Honda Racing's Michael van der Mark in third.

Sykes says once he realised the advantage he was taken aback and is keen to discover more from the new Kawasaki ZX-10R despite the chilly and windy conditions at Motorland Aragon.

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"I am happy enough after today and I'm quite surprised on the pure performances side as I still have some things I would like to improve with the set-up," Sykes said. "In general, looking at our performance and potential consistency, I have to be happy. Even considering the windy conditions we were able to manage it quite well.

"Now my crew chief Marcel, all the boys in the team and I will aim to make the feel a bit more natural in a couple of corners. That is for tomorrow but at the end of day one, when we have to prepare for the races, we are heading in quite a good way."